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Jefferson-Somerset spring review

Special to the Chronicle
Published 12:08 p.m. ET June 13, 2018

Spring at Jefferson-Somerset Acadamey continued to see students blossom and excel in meeting new challenges and cross-pollinating budding intellects with ideas of leadership, academics and entrepreneurship.(Photo: Special to the Chronicle)

Just as the fall semester brought a new beginning to Jefferson County K-12 under the direction of Somerset Academy, Inc. and school principal Cory Oliver, spring continued to see students blossom and the school excel in meeting new challenges and cross-pollinating budding intellects with ideas of leadership, academics and entrepreneurship.

In January The State Board of Education and Commissioner Pam Stewart recognized senior Elliott Robinson, from Jefferson-Somerset School, with the Commissioner of Education’s Leadership Award. The school also hosted The Akropolis Reed Quintet, held its first Literary Week and held the STEM focused Lego League’s first ever Robotics Presentation. Literary Week was extra special with guest readers such as Jefferson County Sheriff McNeill, Superintendent Arbulu and Judge Bobby Plaines who came into the classrooms to read to the students. Sheriff McNeill was so impressed with the third-grade students that he surprised them with a pizza party! The week also offered a Teddy Bear Tea Party where parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and teachers came to the Media Center to read to students from Pre-K to fifth grade. Other highlights included the Jefferson-Somerset varsity and junior varsity cheerleading squads who won several awards and trophies at various competitions.

The school participated throughout February in several events focused on and celebrating Black History Month. Most notably, students from all grade levels presented a spectacular Black History performance titled, “My History, Your History, Our History.”

February also saw two Jefferson-Somerset students, Anthony Seaton and Tahja Chavis, receive the distinguished honor of serving at the State Capital as Senate pages. The school honored Rowena West as elementary teacher of the year, 1st Sgt. Terry Walker as middle school teacher of the year and Nicky Seaton as employee of the year. The school also hosted a military ball and a Pretty Girls Rock pageant. Another big event in February was the national Arrive Alive campaign that taught students about the negative effects of texting while driving.

The spring also saw continued upgrades and improvements in school safety and security measures including a letter home to parents detailing the procedures and reiterating the school administration’s commitment to ensuring the safety of all of the Jefferson-Somerset students and staff. Later in the semester Principal Cory Oliver hosted an interagency roundtable with law enforcement and community leaders to continue to have focused efforts on the topic of school safety.

The school participated in and hosted events meant to serve the health and nutrition of students with events such as the Day of Dialogue that saw vendors from all over the Big Bend area come to Jefferson-Somerset to inform the public of ways to prevent serious health issues and develop lifestyle changes to improve overall health. The BackPack Program in partnership with America’s Second Harvest focused on sending at-risk students home with a backpack full of nutritional and healthy food choices each Friday to ensure they do not go hungry over the weekend.

Montserrat Santilan-Rodriguez won the opportunity to attend the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington D.C. based on her winning essay for the Tri-County Electric Coop. Jefferson-Somerset gifted classes visited Dixie Plantation to do a field study and make observations of a healthy ecosystem.

March, April and May were busy, busy months where the students buckled down for state assessment tests and end of year exams. The faculty and staff worked hard to prepare the students and make sure they had all the tools and confidence to recall what they had been taught all year. The school provided breakfast for students on test days to make sure they were healthy and focused.

Another momentous occasion was when Jefferson K-2 students were invited to the Florida Governor’s Mansion to attend the celebration of the statewide kickoff of the Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign hosted by First Lady Ann Scott. Under the guidance and leadership of Entrepreneur Instructor Q'vaunda Curry, Jefferson K -12 Somerset hosted its first annual NFTE Business Plan Competition.

The end of the year saw field trips, bicycles awarded to students with perfect attendance, Senior Prom, awards day and graduations. Several Jefferson-Somerset athletes made headlines on college commitment day as did a record number of JROTC cadets who were honored at the first annual military commitment day for signing up to enlist in various branches of the US armed services.

The first year of a new era at Jefferson-Somerset School comes to a close with much to talk about and reflect upon over the summer months for parents and students. Faculty and staff will relish in the victories just long enough to catch their breath and buckle down to make year two even better, serve students tirelessly, work to build upon 2017-18 school year’s success and seek ways to improve even more for the upcoming 2018-19 semesters.